Shuffle Up: Jason Castro, useful Astro
I suppose it's time to rank the catchers, because they're not going to shuffle themselves. (Or maybe I could just ask a Molina to do it. That usually works.)
What's to follow is how I'd arrange the backstops in 5x5 value for the balance of the year (imagine you're attending a start-fresh draft that begins now). The play on the field to this point is useful for an audition, but we're not looking to rank the players based on what they've done to that point. The look ahead is what matters.
Your respectful and intelligent feedback is most welcome, as always - just offer some defense to your disagreement. And remember the golden rule: no player gains (or loses) 15-20 percent of bonus value merely because they're on your fake baseball roster.
Click through, let's do this.
$24 Buster Posey
$22 Yadier Molina
$20 Joe Mauer
$18 Mike Napoli
$18 Carlos Santana
$18 Wilin Rosario
Molina's sore knee bears monitoring - he's been remarkably durable through his career, but he's endured a ridiculous workload as well. I'm carrying some St. Louis pitchers on a variety of teams; it's reassuring to have Molina's arm and blocking skills constantly in the mix. And obviously he's turned himself into a terrific hitter, and a legitimate MVP candidate, too . . . Napoli's batting average isn't pushing the needle - he's yet to finish any month over .263 - but the Boston undertow is a beautiful thing for run production. Fenway Park hasn't skewed the numbers; Napoli's OPS is 78 points higher on the road. We love our faux-catchers in fake baseball, and that's Napoli - he hasn't caught a single game in 2013.
$16 Matt Wieters
$16 Jonathan Lucroy
$15 Brian McCann
$13 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
$13 Salvador Perez
$12 Victor Martinez
$12 Jason Castro
$11 Wilson Ramos
$11 J.P. Arencibia
$11 Ryan Doumit
$11 Miguel Montero
Castro is walking less and striking out more than he did in his 2012 debut, but the power spike is worth it to us. He's best used against right-handed pitching, where the slash comes in at .281/.346/.485 The Astros used the tenth overall pick in the 2008 draft on Castro, but it took a while for his offense to progress in the minors . . . The Brewers rely on Lucroy's bat for the middle of the order; he's batted fourth or fifth in 63 of his games this season. He's also lessened the gap in his platoon splits, posting a .763 OPS against right-handed pitching . . . Batting slot is the only thing holding down Ramos's snappy return - he's been in the No. 8 hole exclusively over the last week. That's more penal in the National League, with the pitcher waiting behind you.
$9 Russell Martin
$8 A.J. Pierzynski
$5 A.J. Ellis
$4 Alex Avila
$4 Carlos Ruiz
$3 John Buck
$3 John Jaso
$3 Josh Phegley
The first five starts of the Phegley Era have been hacktastic: three homers, six strikeouts, no walks, .200 average. His bat was robust at Triple-A Charlotte: .316/.368/.597, with 15 homers in 61 games . . . An extended Buck slump has his slash back where you'd expect, the .213/.279/.394 level. Nonetheless, those 14 homers are handy in deeper pools if you've got batting average banked elsewhere.
$2 Jose Lobaton
$2 Welington Castillo
$2 Nick Hundley
$2 Devin Mesoraco
$2 Hank Conger
$2 Rob Brantly
$2 Yan Gomes
$1 Dioner Navarro
$1 Chris Stewart
$1 Mike Zunino
$1 Ryan Lavarnway
$0 Chris Iannetta
$0 Tyler Flowers
$0 Jose Molina
$0 Kurt Suzuki
Courtesy Injury Ranks - Not for Debate
$7 Evan Gattis
$1 Erik Kratz
$0 Ryan Hanigan
